


There's an Inevitability to Reincarnation

by justcallmeizzo



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Somewhat reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2013-08-16
Packaged: 2017-12-23 15:58:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/928394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justcallmeizzo/pseuds/justcallmeizzo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young woman finds the man who has waited for centuries, to tell him things he never dared to dream. The Duchess is pregnant, and some might say Albion could use a great soul once again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's an Inevitability to Reincarnation

It’s a Tuesday, ten o’clock in the morning, when a girl in her mid-twenties stops at the cafe. It’s a small place, visited only by the locals who even know it’s there, so she’s almost unsure if she’s at the right spot.

She walks up the the barista, a woman in her early-thirties and the owner of the cafe. “Can I get you anything, dear?”

She looks over the boards a little confused before slowly answering, “No, no thanks. I actually wanted to ask you a question.”

“We’re not hiring right now, hun. There’s a Pret two blocks down that might be interested.” She takes out a rag and starts to clean the counter.

“Oh, er, that’s not what I was going to ask, but thanks? I guess?” She looks flustered for a moment before continuing. “I wanted to know if a man comes here, looks pretty old, sits by himself mostly?”

The owner looks annoyed. “Has he done somethin’ wrong?”

“No? I just wanted to talk to him.” The owner looks wary, so the girl continues quickly. “I have a project for uni and I needed to interview him.” 

The owner raised an eyebrow before nodding to a group of tables outside. “Sometimes there’s an old timer who sits out there. He doesn’t come in much, just looks at the birds or somethin’. He should be by any time now.”

The girl smiled and thanked the owner before heading out to the tables that were mentioned.

She only had to look around for a moment before she noticed an older gentleman sitting alone. He had a long white beard and white hair with a blue beanie, and he was wearing a thick red scarf.

She walked over to the table and asked, “Excuse me? Mr. Emrys?” He looked up quickly, blue eyes piercing the girl’s brown.

“Who are you? What do you want?” His voice was raspy, but powerful nonetheless.

“I came to talk to you. My name is Abigail Benwick.”

“Why would you want to talk to me?”

“Because you knew my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.” She took a seat across from him. “Lancelot Du Lac.” She watched him carefully and he studied her cautiously. 

“You missed a few ‘great’s.” She smiled widely. “How did you know I’d be here?”

She pointed at the sign. “It’s called ‘The Round Table Cafe’. I took a leap of faith.”

He smiled softly, most of it hidden by his beard. “I meant how did you know I’d be here, in the ‘Merlin Emrys is a real person’ kind of way?”

She shrugged, still smiling. “Stories. My father used to tell me all about you, and when I got older he told me I was related to Lancelot and I knew you were real. It was like I could just feel it, that it was important for me to know you existed. That sounds completely daft, doesn’t it?”

“You’re talking a centuries old wizard, Abigail. I think we passed daft a while ago.” She let out a gasp of a laugh while he swallowed his smile. “So why did you decide that now was the best time to talk to me? If you had known I was real for all this time?”

“The Dutchess is pregnant, due any day now actually.”

Merlin sighed. “I’ve heard, but why does that matter at all?”

“Because Merlin, _she’s having a boy_.” Abigail’s face broke out into a large smile, but she tried to hide it as best she could.

“No one knows that. Are you some journalist who came here for a story about an old koot who thinks he’s Merlin the Wizard? Cause I won’t-”

“No! No I swear! I’m not lying! I’m her OBGYN!” Merlin calmed himself down, but he still looked confused. Abigail began whispering, “The hospital provided the Duchess with her very own staff that’s on call 24/7 until the baby comes, of which I am a part of.”

“Didn’t you have to sign confidentiality papers?”

“Obviously, but I had to tell _someone_. And in this case, that ‘someone’ had to be you.”

“Why?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because there’s a chance they’ll name him Arthur.”

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. “And how could you _possibly_ know _that_?”

She looked smug when she answered. “I left _The Once and Future King_ on her bedside and I talk to her about it whenever I do checkups. She’s quite the fan of King Arthur, you know.”

“It won’t be him.” He looked sad and in that moment, Abigail could see every year he had spent alone.

“But it _could_ be!”

“No!” he shouted. Everyone looked over and Abigail looked down at the table design quietly. She thought of apologizing to him and leaving, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Merlin needed to be around again.

“I have this theory-”

“I don’t want to hear it. You should go.”

“No,” she responded harshly. “I came all this way, I’m going to talk.” He looked surprised for a moment before saying, “You’re a lot like Lance. Stubborn as a mule, he was.” She took that as a cue to continue. “I have a theory that great souls never truly disappear. The souls that gave such greatness to the world can never really leave it. They have to come back when they’re needed most, when the world needs hope and greatness again.

“Think about what you’ve read about in the news: the wars, the deaths, the violence. Think about education reforms and the homeless problem plaguing the world. I’d say we could use some greatness again, Merlin. I’d say we could use a soul like Arthur’s.”

“But this wouldn’t be him. This wouldn’t be my Arthur. He’ll be spoiled and privileged and he’ll have a mother.” He paused for a second, “He’ll have a mother right?”

She rolled her eyes, “Obviously. But think of all the times Arthur needed a mother and Uther needed a wife. He may be spoiled, but I’m sure your Arthur was as well. All he would really need is you, Merlin. You balance Arthur out. You make him strive to be the great man you know he’s capable of being.”

He thought to himself for a while before looking at Abigail, water starting to fill his eyes. “And what if it’s not him? What if they decide on something like George rather than Arthur? You will have given me false hope”

Abigail smiled softly and placed her hand on his. “I believe Shakespeare said it best: ‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’. He may not be named Arthur but he could still _be_ Arthur.”

“How?” A single tear fell down a sharp cheekbone, but his voice never shook.

“Because _you’re_ still _Merlin_.” She squeezed his hand and smiled sincerely before her phone beeped and she sighed. “I have to go, but think about it. Another Arthur?” She raised her eyebrows and smiled while standing up. “Have a great day, Mr. Emrys. Hopefully I’ll see you around.”

He nodded politely and smiled. There was a large part of Merlin that wanted to forget everything that Abigail had said, that wanted to re-bury the memories that she had dug up, but the other part of him wanted to believe every word that came out of her mouth. He wanted to believe that Arthur would be returning.

He thought about her theory on souls and smiled.

_If any soul was great enough to stick around, Arthur’s would definitely be there._

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story before Kate and William announced the name, and I was prompted by the heartbreaking text post on tumblr that read: "meanwhile, somewhere in the uk at this very moment, merlin is trying not to get his hopes up too high"
> 
> I hope you liked it :)


End file.
